|
|
 Back to Archives     |
10.4.06 Irving, Oct. 4, 2006 — The North Texas Commission announced the election of its new officers, executive committee and directors to its 70-member board. Incoming NTC Chairman H. Dan Farell with TXU succeeds Lee F. Jackson, chancellor at the University of North Texas System. Other board officers include vice chairman – Kenneth Barr, president, Kenneth Barr Consulting; secretary – Wendy Lopez, CEO, LOPEZGARCIA GROUP; and treasurer – Bill Hanley, partner, KPMG. In addition to the officers, the 2007 executive committee includes director at large (Dallas) – Wright Lassiter, chancellor, Dallas County Community College District; director at large (Fort Worth) – Donna R. Parker, director of client relations and development, Carter & Burgess, Inc.; director at large (Mid-Cities) – Robert Cluck, mayor, City of Arlington; director at large (Suburban) – Bill Keffler, city manager, City of Richardson; director at large – Luis Cruz, region president, Verizon Wireless; director at large – Charles Shewmake, associate vice president of State Government Affairs, Burlington Northern Santa Fe; director at large – Timothy D. Ward, president, Alliance Air/Aviation Services; general counsel – Hal Thorne, partner, Thorne & Thorne, Inc.; immediate past chairman – Lee F. Jackson, chancellor, University of North Texas System; and Dan S. Petty, president and CEO, North Texas Commission. Newly elected board directors include Steve Banta, group president, Verizon; Vernon Bryant, chairman, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce; Steve Hayes, district manager, Siemens; and Scott Lewis, executive vice president of Texas Business Banking, Capital One, NA. Incoming board chairman H. Dan Farell retired from the TXU Corp. system this year at the age of 56 after 34 years of service. Farell’s most recent position at TXU was senior vice president and principal financial officer of TXU Electric Delivery. He also served as an integral member of TXU Electric Delivery’s senior leadership team. Farell is a certified public accountant. Farell joined TXU in 1972 and held numerous financial and operational management and leadership positions within the TXU System, and was instrumental in leading a number of improvement initiatives. Following TXU’s 1995 acquisition of Eastern Energy Limited from the state government of Victoria in Australia, Farell spent three years in Australia as managing director of Texas Utilities Australia and Chairman of Eastern Energy. He returned to the states and provided leadership in TXU’s transformation into regulated and non-regulated business units. From 1998 to 2002, he headed TXU’s distribution business unit (electric and gas). In 2002, he was named President of TXU Gas Company. In 2003-2004, Farell served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of TXU Corp. In 2004, he provided executive leadership in negotiating an outsourcing joint venture with Capgemini Energy, the first of its kind in the U.S. utility industry and involved customer care, finance and accounting, human resources, information technology, revenue management, and supply chain. Farell took responsibility for relationship and contract management of this venture until he moved into his position at TXU Electric Delivery. As past vice chairman of the NTC Board of Directors, Farell currently serves on the executive committee and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Financial Executives Institute, and the Financial Planning Association. Previously, he served as director of the Victorian Power Exchange (Australia), the Southern Gas Association, the Association of Texas Intrastate Natural Gas Pipelines, the Energy Reliability Council of Texas, and the Leadership Council of the American Gas Association. Farell served on the board of the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, as chairman of the board of trustees of First Baptist Academy in Dallas and Paul Quinn College in Dallas. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University, Commerce where he earned a BBA in accounting and finance and of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program (AMP). Farell and his wife, Linda, live in Dallas and have five children and two grandchildren. They are active members of First Baptist Church in Dallas. Established in 1971, the North Texas Commission is a regional non-profit consortium of businesses, cities, counties, chambers of commerce, economic development entities and higher education institutions in the North Texas Region. The Commission is the one and only public-private regional organization committed to enhancing the overall economic vitality and quality of life of North Texas. NTC improves the economy, infrastructure and lifestyle of North Texas by leading and directing regionally cooperative initiatives to accomplish objectives in four primary areas: transportation, aviation, environment and long-range strategies. |
 |